This week's headlines

The Board of County Commissioners has sent letters to the governor and other state officials urging continued support of the Delta Correctional Facility.

The DCC, along with 20 other Department of Corrections facilities, has been the subject of a "facilities use analysis" based on declining prison populations in the state.

Some DOC facilities have been cut back or closed.

The commissioners wrote that they "strongly urge the Colorado Department of Corrections to continue the support of the Delta Correctional Facility."

Noting the importance of the DCC to the local economy, the commissioners said, "The DCC is a significant contributor to our local economy in numerous ways including employees and vendors. The DCC is supported by 131 local vendors that are locally based."

Inmate work crews are a key part of the DCC's rehabilitation program and they contribute to local communities also. "Work crews from the DCC provide an average of 150,000 hours of service valued at $954,252 per year. This partnership directly benefits 35 local, state, and federal entities," the letter states.

Inmates are exposed to "job skills, work ethic and sense of accomplishment that is learned by the work crews as they finish each job... skills that can be transferred to legitimate jobs when they move into the labor market. This bigger picture analysis will show that the DCC facility is cost effective and an excellent use of taxpayer dollars," concludes the BoCC letter.

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